Axel Disasi got off to the perfect start in a Chelsea shirt after arriving for a reported £38.5m, scoring on his debut to rescue a point for the Blues at Stamford Bridge against Liverpool.
Since then, however, things have gone in the opposite direction, with the defender keeping just one clean sheet, which came in Chelsea’s only win of the Premier League season, against newly-promoted Luton Town.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffered yet another moment to forget in their most recent outing, as Nottingham Forest became the latest side to take points away from the Blues, coming away with a 1-0 victory.
Disasi failed to make a tackle during the game, as per SofaScore, and has since received criticism from Chelsea and Premier League legend William Gallas, who won two league titles during his time at the London club.
What did William Gallas say about Axel Disasi?
Following Chelsea’s third defeat in four games, in what is their worst start to a Premier League season since the 1995/96 campaign, Gallas criticised Disasi’s performance. Relayed by The Metro, the Frenchman said:
“I was one of the guys who didn’t understand why Disasi joined Chelsea. The Premier League is a different league in terms of difficulty. Even though he is a physical player he has to understand strikers will be very strong when they challenge him.
“He has to improve a lot, but he has the opportunity to play alongside Thiago Silva and he has to learn from him, speak to him a lot, and Silva can help him move to the next step.
“Even though he has joined Chelsea it doesn’t mean he is completely ready. He still has some bad habits and he has to change them. That’s why when I saw his name, I thought he was not ready to join Chelsea.
“But you have to give him time to settle into a new country, new players and a new club. You have to give him time. When you have a foreign player who joins the Premier League you have to at least give them one year.”
Why did Axel Disasi join Chelsea?
After an impressive campaign for AS Monaco, Disasi earned the interest of Chelsea, and soon jumped at the chance to complete a move to the Premier League giants.
At just 25 years of age, there’s still plenty of time for the central defender to improve at his new club, too, silencing doubters such as Galas, in the process. Statistically speaking, it’s clear to see exactly why those at Stamford Bridge were so keen to sign Disasi this summer. According to FBref, he even outperformed both Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah last season.
|
Player |
Progressive Carries |
Progressive Passes |
Blocks |
Interceptions |
|
Axel Disasi |
64 |
206 |
51 |
112 |
|
Thiago Silva |
8 |
104 |
38 |
111 |
|
Trevoh Chaloba |
17 |
71 |
17 |
56 |
The stats prove that Disasi is certainly a player capable of taking control of Chelsea’s backline once and for all, perhaps finally adding some stability for Pochettino’s side. It looks as if the defender will need time to settle, however, and in the meantime, may need to take any criticism on the chin and aim to turn Chelsea’s current form around.